Tsunami waves hit U.S. mainland, at least one dead, five missing
Posted March 12, 2011 7:41 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HONOLULU – A tsunami warning was issued for the U.S. West Coast and parts of British Columbia Friday, following a magnitude 8.9 earthquake in Japan.
Officials along the coast activated warning sirens hours earlier to alert people to leave low-lying areas, while beaches, nearby homes, hotels and highways were immediately evacuated.
The first waves reached the U.S. mainland along the Oregon coast, Friday. In California, the water roared onto the banks of Crescent City, where five thrill seekers were caught by the seven foot waves. At least one of them – an amateur photographer – is confirmed dead.
“Water has come up to doorsteps in downtown areas. We’re still trying to assess the damage,” said reporter Scott Carpenter, adding that boats were yanked out of the harbour and the wooden docks have been wrecked.
Geophysicist Gerard Fryer at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu said high water reached Port Orford, Oregon, around 10:30 a.m. ET Friday.
People in coastal of Oregon, California and Washington evacuated ahead of the waves Friday. In B.C., authorities evacuated marinas, beaches and other areas.
In Alaska, the tsunami caused a wave just over five feet at Shemya in the Aleutian Islands 1,900 kilometres southwest of Anchorage.
U.S. President Barack Obama said the earthquake and tsunami in Japan are a potentially “catastrophic” disaster, and he said his thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese people.
Speaking at a White House news conference, Obama said the U.S. is prepared to send whatever assistance Japan requests. He said one aircraft carrier is already in Japan and another, as well as several ships, are on their way.
Tsunami waves have also swamped Hawaii beaches and grazed the West Coast. Obama said that his administration is monitoring the impact of the tsunami on the U.S. closely.
Kauai was the first of the Hawaiian islands hit by the tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Water rushed ashore in Honolulu, swamping the beach in Waikiki and surging over a break wall in the world-famous resort but stopping short of the area’s high-rise hotels.
Waves about two metres high were recorded on Maui, and a meter in Oahu and Kauai. Officials warned that the waves would continue and could become larger, but a scientist at the tsunami warning centre said it didn’t appear that they would cause major damage in Hawaii.
“But there is going to be some damage, I’m sure,” said geophysicist Gerard Fryer in Hawaii.
Roadways and beaches were empty as the tsunami struck the state, which had hours to prepare. Sirens sounded throughout the night, and residents in coastal areas were sent to refuge areas at community centres and schools while tourists were moved to higher floors of hotels. People waited in long lines stocking up on gas, bottled water, canned food and generators.
The tsunami, spawned by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan, slammed the eastern coast of Japan, sweeping away boats, cars, homes and people as widespread fires burned out of control. It raced across the Pacific at 800 kilometres an hour — as fast as a jetliner — though the waves roll into shore at normal speeds.
It was the second time in a little over a year that Hawaii and the U.S. West coast faced the threat of a massive tsunami. A magnitude-8.8 earthquake in Chile spawned warnings on Feb. 27, 2010, but the waves were much smaller than predicted and almost no damage was reported.
Latin American governments ordered islanders and coastal residents to head for higher ground. First affected would be Chile’s Easter Island, in the remote South Pacific, about 3,500 kilometres west of the capital of Santiago, where people planned to evacuate the only town. Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa declared a state of emergency and ordered people on the Galapagos Islands and the coast of the mainland to seek higher ground.
The tsunami warning was issued Friday at 3:31 a.m. ET. Sirens were sounded about 30 minutes later in Honolulu alerting people in coastal areas to evacuate. About 70 per cent of Hawaii’s 1.4 million population resides in Honolulu, and as many as 100,000 tourists are in the city on any given day.
A small 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Big Island just before 5 a.m. ET, but there were no reports of damages and the quakes weren’t likely related, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey said.
